Former Cowboys cheerleader files lawsuit against team over pay

DALLAS -- A former Cowboys cheerleader has filed a federal lawsuit against the team, alleging she wasn't paid for all her work and made less money than the team's male mascot.

Erica Wilkins, who worked for the Cowboys from 2014 to 2017, is seeking "unpaid overtime wages, minimum wages, and all other available damages," citing the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to court documents filed Tuesday. The lawsuit said female cheerleaders were paid at a rate less than "Rowdy," the mascot.

The lawsuit states that Wilkins' usual pay rate was $8 per hour, but that payment was sometimes incomplete, and that the team's male mascot made $25 per hour and about $65,000 per year.

Earlier this month, five former cheerleaders sued the Houston Texans, alleging the team failed to fully compensate them as required by law and subjected them to a hostile work environment in which they were harassed, intimidated and forced to live in fear.